Controls

You can play the game with standard controls or use the Circle Pad Pro, which adds a second joystick to the 3DS. After trying without, I highly recommend investing in the Circle Pad Pro as it makes the controls seem more fluid. You can walk with the left stick and aim with the right, making the controls feel more like those in a console game. It also adds two more triggers that made it feel like I was holding a 360 controller with a screen on it. My only gripe is that there is a sensitivity issue that makes it difficult to aim at times. While the controls are a huge improvement, I feel there was a missed opportunity to make them feel close to a true controller feeling.

Sound

Sound also holds a high spot on the 3DS’s capabilities. The music does a great job of getting quiet just enough for you to let your guard down before swelling in as enemies rush towards you. The sound of boiler pipes, and waves crashing against the ship get you into the game. The best way to play Revelations is in a dark room with a good pair of headphones cranked all the way up.

Resident Evil: Revelations pushes the 3DS hardware to its limits, offering the best visuals and sound on the handheld. It mixes the action of recent titles while recapturing the survival horror experience we have been waiting patiently for to return to the series. Whether you’re a new or old fan of the series Revelations will blow you away and leave you excited not only for the next Resident Evil, but also for more high quality games like it on the 3DS.

Mario Kart DS was one of the best games on the DS, which is saying something when there was such a solid library of titles of the 3DS predecessor. Selling over 20 million copies worldwide, it is still a title in reasonable demand for those who have recently acquired the DS hardware. The Mario Kart family has always had a solid reputation for quality, playability, and, above all, fun, and Mario Kart 7 does not disappoint. While it may not be enough to make you purchase a 3DS just to play it, anyone with a 3DS should consider it a “must-have” title for the console.

The controls in Mario Kart 7 are fairly intuitive and even first-timers should have little trouble following the quick reference control guide included with the game. For more detailed information, the manual is supplied electronically which helps save trees, I guess, and means that you are less likely to lose your manual (or at least will have no use for the  manual if you lose it because you’ll have lost the game card along with it).

Motion controls have been added to Mario Kart for the first time on a handheld edition. By using the D-pad to switch to cockpit first-person view, you can now steer by tilting the 3DS side to side (much like holding the Wii-remote in Mario Kart Wii) to steer your kart. Control of your vehicle is pretty reasonable using this new mode but due to the movement of the screen it can be difficult at times to keep the 3DS in the 3D “sweet spot” if your 3D mode has been turned on. Serious racers are likely to avoid the new controls purely because it is harder to steer into the right “lines” when racing, as well as judge horizontal distances between your own kart and competitors’.

Tracks have been rendered in gorgeous 3D, and, perhaps surprisingly, are even more impressive than Mario Kart Wii. Old tracks from the GBA Mario Kart and N64 have had new life breathed into them, with vivid colours and 3D effects which are more immersive than any previous Mario Kart title. Rainbow Road, a track which has ruined many a racer, at least now looks glorious even if it still has you falling off repeatedly.

Grand prix events follow the old formula of four races for points, with the highest points over these races taking out the trophy. There are 8 trophies to race for, with 3 levels of difficulty which remains unchanged (50cc, 100cc, 150cc). During races you can now collect coins, which unlocks customisations for your Kart. The customisations change your Kart’s handling, speed/acceleration, and off-roading ability, as well as provide a novelty factor from the traditional karts. A total of 16 characters from the Mario universe are available in the game, with 8 unlocked from the outset.

Items and power ups feature heavily in Mario Kart, and new items in Mario Kart 7 include the Fire Flower (allows the shooting of fireballs), and the Super Leaf (your kart grows a tail which can be used to swat things nearby). Other game modes are unchanged – time trials let you race against ghost data from the fastest recorded laps, and balloon battle and coin battle return for some unknown reason.

Multiplayer is where Mario Kart is strongest, and MK7 delivers once again even if there are no real changes from previous editions. In only a matter of minutes, relatively lag-free racing can be under way with random strangers from all over the world. If you’d prefer to race with friends then you can do this as well, or you can find online “communities” to join and race with. This essentially serves as a chat room but only with lame prepared responses like “Hello!”, “I’m excited”, and “I’ll get you next time!”. Doesn’t look like Nintendo’s pedophilophobia is going out the back door any time soon.

Local multiplayer is as impressive as ever, once again only requiring 1 game card for up to 8 players with a 3DS to race together wirelessly. Players without the game can only race as Shy Guy, but nevertheless it is commendable that the feature has remained.

(Click to see the full image!)

Did you know that Xbox celebrates its 10^th anniversary today? Ten years ago, Xbox erupted onto the North American gaming scene, wowing gamers with its unmatched system power and game portfolio.

Since then, Xbox has transformed the gaming industry. To date, Microsoft has sold more than 57 million Xbox 360 consoles, has nearly 35 million Xbox LIVE members and is revolutionizing the future of interactive entertainment with Kinect for Xbox 360.